95
FOREIGN OFFICE,
.1.
N 6772/1485/38 Restricted.
23rd June 1948.
Would you please refer to your official letter W.R.I. (c) 1199 or the 27th May about the Soviet stent- ships Simferopol and Sviratroí, and to other correspondence there has been recently on this subject.
I am afraid that I was unatore at the time that the Nute from the Soviet mbassy was forvarieŭ to you, that we had had correspondence in the past with the Colonial vitice about these ships. You will see from the enclosed copy of a letter which we have now received from them that a claim has indocd been put in against the Coviot Government for the cost of rmintaining watchmen on these vessels, but hitherto without success. we were not however aware that the Soviet authorities were negotiating themselves with prospective local purchaserc.
It would appear from the mbasry note which wo copied to you that the Russians had abandoned these vessels in favour of the insurero; and before we consider taking any further action either on your letter or on that which we have had fra the Colonial vffics I should be grateful for your comments on the situation which seems to have arisen. It looks to ug as if the Ruslans, whether deliberately or no, are trying to make the best of both worlds, claiming componɛution as a loss for vesscle which they still consider to be
D. P5. Haigh, Esq.,
Ministry of Transport.
QAN 7711
their/
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